Category: friendship

This was written by Dr Mark Ibsen, MD, who has become a close friend of mine; as has Dr Tennant. My thoughts and blog post on this subject will be forthcoming ASAP! But for now, just for this moment, here are Dr Ibsen, MD’s words regarding this abhorrent situation with Dr Forrest Tennant:

Dr Tennant recently came to Montana to testify for Dr Christensen. Sadly, while in the home state of many of his intractable pain refugee patients,

His home was invaded and business ransacked by agents who allege he was “overprescribing”.

Just what IS overprescribing?

And what would Underprescribing look like?

This term would imply that there is a ceiling dose of a medication that has been prescribed.

It would also imply that there is a “Goldilocks Dose” that is not too high

Not too low, but “just right”.

Dr Tennant,

An endocrinologist,

Has been on the forefront of research and therapy for the intractable pain that patients developed after years of medical or interventional management, or mismanagement.

These are patients with adhesive arachnoiditis, complex regional pain syndrome, trigeminal neuralgia, failed back syndrome, traumatic brain injury, and various other accidental and iatrogenic pain syndromes.

The law enforcement and regulatory agencies Who are threatened by the Obi-Wan Kenobi of pain medicine do not have the sophistication,

compassion,

Or training to realize that they are not dealing with El Chapo. Drug dealers don’t actually care how their clients are doing. In fact, when a drug addict dies of an overdose, sales most often go up. Dealing drugs that are unregulated and often fatal is not what doctors do.

Most people who suffer cardiac arrest have some type of medication on board. We don’t arrest their doctor for prescribing a Statin or aspirin or blood pressure medication in an attempt to enhance or prolong a persons life.

People have hypoglycemic reactions every day,treated for their diabetes. We do not arrest their doctor for “overprescribing insulin”.

All doctors are required by their oath to do no harm-to try to hit that “Goldilocks dose”

When cancer patients die,

Do we blame there oncologist for killing them?

There’s a reason medical doctors train for 12 to 20 years, then continue to study and research the literature their entire careers. Could it really be true that Dr. Tennant is sidelined by a DEA agent with 12 weeks of training?

Are doctors no longer protected by the regulations outlined in the Controlled Substances Act?

Dr. Tennant treats the sickest of intractable pain patients. I too have referred intractable pain patients to him, I have taken his courses and follow his protocols.

Now, who will testify for me and protect my patients?

According to the World Health Organization North America provides the best pain care management on the planet. Dr. Tennant has always recommended following the world health organization pain ladder.

Doctors like forest Tennant, William Hurwitz MD, Ronald Myers, and Chris Christiansen are simply guilty of trying to relieve the suffering of their intractable pain patients.

This often requires us to

“Increase the dose”

If we as a culture continue to punish pain patients and the doctors that serve them no one will be safe accessing the incredible medical system we have developed in the US.

Yes, complications occur.

Yes, people are dying.

From heroin/ fentanyl injection ODs,

Not

From responsible informed and well researched treatment of those in intractable pain who have failed every other therapy available.

Imagine that one moment you are walking around, sipping lemonade at a Summer arts festival and the next you are admitted into a hospital after a man ran through a red light.You awaken after a catastrophic motor vehicle accident feeling incoherent and in a lot of pain.That was what happened to me in 2002.I endured 3 years of brain injury rehabilitation, 8 years of Physical therapy, speech therapy and 8 surgeries. But this story is not about those days, it is about later getting diagnosed with RSD/CRPS.

I went in for surgery on my right foot, in April of2007.Six weeks later I had my post-op check up. I knew something was wrong, before I arrived at my appointment.I was in more pain and it felt as though my foot was “on fire” and had “exploded” on the inside.I was told by the surgeon that day, that I “had a little RSD” and I was given Lyrica.I could not take the Lyrica, as it made me very ill.After researching “RSD” online, what I read sounded horrific!I decided to get a second opinion. After visiting an Orthopedic foot/ankle specialist, I was told that I had “Classic RSD” and he sent me to a Pain Management clinic.I did not go because I’d recently been through all of the “hoops” of the pain clinic, following the car accident.I wasn’t a candidate for a pain pump or a spinal cord stimulator and so I was sent back to my primary care physician.The pain Dr. had told me that “they are looked at under a microscope by the government”, therefore I had to have my primary Dr. do the prescribing.I ended up getting medications to try and help with the pain.I tried to finish up the PT but any touching of that foot was unbearable.

I was getting by, just trying to live day to day. Then in 2013, what was supposed to be a pacemaker replacement surgery turned into a total pectoral muscle rebuild and more. I was diagnosed with “severe systemic/full-body CRPS. I am very lucky to have a Neuro-Cardiologist who’s done research on RSD/CRPS. He tried to head off the full blown systemic CRPS by taking several precautions. Unfortunately, it did not work for me.Now I’ve explained how I got the CRPS but I’ve not told you about the depth of pain people endure when living with this Neuro- Inflammatory Autoimmune illness that is #43 on the McGill Pain scale.The copyrighted flame CRPS awareness ribbon is a perfect example of what it feels like. Personally, it is as though the entire left side of my body, inside and out; is on fire.It feels like a deep burning fire within and yet I feel and icy coldness as well. My knees, feet, hands and chest feel as though they might explode at any given time. This is only one of 8 or 9 high pain chronic illnesses that I live with. I think it is the illness with the worst kind of pain.

November is the month dedicated to Awareness of RSD/CRPS, also known as “Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy” and “Complex Regional Pain Syndrome”. Health advocates and patients join with non profits, such as RSDSA (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association); and we spread awareness. This is a complex and somewhat rare high pain illness. It is classified as a rare disorder by NORD (National Organization of Rare Disorders) and the FDA, but about 200,000 people are diagnosed annually.According to the RSDSA website, “CRPS occurs when the nervous system and the immune system malfunction as they respond to tissue damage from trauma. The nerves misfire, sending constant pain signals to the brain.”Usually it follows a surgery, a period of immobilization after a musculoskeletal trauma or some kind of injury to the nerves.It steals the very life out of so many people who are unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with it. Early diagnosis is the key to some instances of remission. Sometimes it takes years to even get a true diagnosis, due to the fact that many physicians don’t even know anything about it.But there are some people who can help.RSDSAis a 501(c)3 non profit organization based in Connecticut and was founded in 1984.I’ve come to know and love, the Vice President/director, Jim Broatch, MSW.Annually, during the month of November, we have quite a campaign going. RSDSA is always there to “provide support, education and hope to all affected by the pain and disability of RSD/CRPS”. They are always striving to do more research and develop better treatments.

Some of the events that I have going for this month, include a campaign that I call “#wearthemsharethem for RSD/CRPS”. You see, when the former RSDHope.org closed their doors in June 2016; there were many treasures “gifted” to me by my “adopted” family, the Orsini’s. I was given a number of temporary tattoos with the copyrighted CRPS flame awareness ribbon on them. I have put those to good use 2 years in a row, now. I ask people to just send in a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope). I return their envelope with several of the temporary tattoos inside.I only ask for them to send me a photo of themselves or someone they love, wearing one of the tattoo’s, so I can post it to my Website“RASEforCRPS” (R.A.S.E. represents: Research, Awareness, Support & Educate). I use the hashtag #wearthemsharethem and we post to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, in order to raise awareness. Also I have gotten a proclamation from the Governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder every year since 2013. The proclamation declares that in the state of Michigan, we recognize November as the month dedicated to the Awareness and support of RSD/CRPS. Then there are 3 fundraisers that I have going on this month:a Facebook fundraiser lasting all month, a LuLaRoe Album sale on Thursday, November 16th through Friday, November 17th for 24 hours, and a Pizzeria fundraiser and Awareness event on Thursday, November 30th from 5:00pm until 8:30pm. One more activity for Awareness and education that I did last year and am doing again this year is the “#30factsfor30days of November”.I post a daily fact about RSD/CRPS on each social media site.All facts are taken from the RSDSA website, with their permission of course.

Aside from what I am doing, which also includes writing, posting, blogging and sharing; RSDSA has many events taking place during the month of November also.They have an “event Calendar” on the website, but just to name a few:there is the 4th annual Central New Jersey RSD/CRPS Walk for Hope, Saturday, November 4, 2017, the 5th annual Fight the Flame 5K, in Charlotte, NC, on Sunday, November 5th, 2017, the Fight the Flame 5k, Mentor, Ohio, Sunday, November 5, 2017, CRPS Meet-up and Scavenger hunt by CRPS Forum, Los Angeles, CA Monday, November 6, 2017, Charity Ride for CRPS, New York City, Saturday, November 11, 2017, and Color the World Orange, World Wide, Monday, November 6, 2017.

Please help us share this information and raise awareness and support for this painful illness. The RSD/CRPS community truly comes together at all times, but mostly during this special month.We are not ones to sit in the side lines. This community comes together and creates a beautiful month of togetherness, awareness, support and raising money for the much needed research.The monies raised, also helps RSDSA provide patient assistance.One of the funds that helps RSDSA assist CRPS patients is the “Maria Lane Fund” and another is the Brad Jenkins memorial Fund.You can find out about these assistance programs at the RSDSA website as well. There is also an RSDSA informational YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/RSDSAofAmerica. The other part of RSDSA’s mission, is to fund research. They have funded more than $3 million dollars in pilot studies and pain fellowships.

Lastly, I want to personally thank Jim Broatch and RSDSA for the letter that they sent out on October 9, 2017.I was touched and I stand along side of many other RSD/CRPS patients/advocates. This letter that was emailed to it’s members, states that they “Oppose Cigna’s decision to Not Cover the cost of OxyContin in 2018” and they wrote also “We will continue to stand with our community during the War on “People in Pain”. Thank you to all who are doing their part to spread awareness and try to educate the medical professionals and the public regarding this illness.

Several years ago I was approached by a YouTube channel called “Invisible No More TV”. They had seen some of my advocacy videos for patients, chronic pain, RSD/CRPS and “invisible disabilities/illnesses”. They asked me if I would like to be featured on their channel in a short video describing “invisible disabilities” and being “invisible no more’. I agreed and I’ve been featured on that channel ever since 2012. I later found out that this YouTube channel is a part of a much bigger organization called the “Invisible Disabilities Association”. The reason that I’m telling you this today is because this week is “Invisible Disabilities Awareness week”. I’ve always been a team player for IDA and have always supported them and they have always supported me, since we met in 2012.

First of all, let me explain that an “invisible disability”, according to the IDA website, which you can find by visiting: Invisibledisabili.org, is “a physical, mental or neurological condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities that is invisible to the onlooker. Unfortunatley the very fact that these symptoms are invisible, can lead to misunderstandings, false perceptions and judgements.” The Invisible Disabilities organization works tirelessly throughout the year to bring awareness to illnesses, diseases and disabilities that often times seem to go unnoticed. One week during the year, the third week of October is the time to share your journey with invisible disabilities. This year, that week is October 15th through the 21st, is “Invisible Disabilities awareness week”. During this wek, we will be posing many interactive posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. These are where you can share your personal stories, advocacy, favorite people, places, pets and anything else like this that you wish to share. This is YOUR week to meet new friends, post a video or share stories with others. The reason for this is that we want to show you that you are “INVISIBLE NO MORE” and just because people say “but you look good”; doesn’t mean that nothing is wrong on the inside.

This is how this week will play out: On Monday we want you to “share your story”. You can post as much or as little as you wish. You can post a photo collage with a story underneath, or you can make a *short and sweet video (about 2 minutes is best). Please note that you can post your story throughout the week, but Monday is the starting date for this activity. On Tuesday we will be sharing stories of why invisible disabilities awareness is important in your life. You can make a video or a photo collage about your life and the millions of others who live with illness and pain that goes unseen sometimes. If you have the Invisible Disabilites glow-in-dark wristband, t-shirt or lapel pin; please wear it (you can buy them at the IDA website at: www.InvisibleDisabilities.org). If you have none or some of these, you can just choose a blue hat, scarf and/or a blue shirt. Invisible Disabilities Association wants to “turn the internet blue for millions living with Invisible Disabilities. IDA is on Instagram at: http://www.Instagram.com/invisibledisabilities, on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/InvDisabilities and on Facebook at: www.Facebook.com/InvisibleDisabilities. You can use the tag #InvisibleDisabilitiesWeek.

Just to give you a little bit of background about I.D.A.; they were founded in 1996. Their mission is to “encourage, educate and connect people and organizations touched by illness, pain and disability around the globe”. They believe that “together we can make a difference in our communities and around the world.”

But now I just want to tell you a little bit about my friend Sherri Connell was an actress, dancer and loved to dance and sing. When she was 27 years old she lost the ability to take care of herself. She was diagnosed with progressive Multiple Sclerosis and she was in a wheelchair paralyzed. At first friends and family were understanding and supportive. She has been able to regain some use of her legs with a lot of work and effort. She still finds it difficult to stand and walk around. But because suddenly the other people in her life could no longer “see” how the MS was disabling, they stopped being as understanding. It was not the wheelchair that kept her from her career, but the disabling fatigue, cognitive dysfunctions, horrible pain and dizziness too. She could not care for her own daily needs.

Sherri’s husband Wayne, decided to try and tell people; help to educate their friends and family about her disabilities and illness. He published a few writings from her daily journals onto a website. They thought long and hard and then decided on the name “Invisible Disabilities Association”. Sherri quickly found out that she was not the only one, because she received numerous emails from people all over the world. These people reiterated that they too, had felt alone and felt like nobody understood what they were going through because sometimes it was or is “invisible”. Then it became Wayne and Sherri’s passion to help others with disabling conditions by first believing them, and then by being compassionate, supportive and hopeful.

So then, in 1996, Wayne founded the Invisible Disabilities Association (a 501(c)3); with a mision to “Encourage, Educate and Connect People, Organizations Touched by Illness, Pain and Disability Around the Globe”! If you have any questions, you can reach out to Sherri Mitchell Connell or Wayne Connell on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. You can also find them through the IDA website listed above. Let’s all have a great week of spreading the awareness of Invisible Disabilities, Invisible Pain and Illnesses that go unnoticed to others at times, but never to those of us who live with it on a daily basis.

I am writing today about a topic that I had hoped to never write about. But it has come to my attention and the attention of several support group leaders on Facebook; that there are imposters trying to infiltrate our support groups. This is a sad story and one that should never happen. Anyone who runs a support group for any illnesses, including and especially the chronic pain illnesses, needs to be aware of this situation.

I opened up Facebook a week or so ago, only to feel relieved in a way, that none of my support groups were affected by this “fake” person who pretended to have RSD/CRPS. This intruder into the CRPS community had befriended over 600 people on Facebook in over a period of just about 3 years. She started her own support group and then the worst happened. She gained the trust of many people who are suffering with the horrible chronic nerve pain of CRPS. She pretended to have the disease and pretended to have “cured herself”. This is unforgivable and preposterous to say the least. I had no idea about any of this until last week when all of the news broke. Her account was found out about and she disappeared.

She disappeared but not before taking with her dozens of trusted CRPS patients photos and videos. She asked them to make videos and send them to her and photos as well. She wanted these videos to be showing how they “worked through their pain and pushed through it”. She told several people in her support group that on the delicate and sensitive flaring areas of Skin that has been diagnosed with CRPS/RSD; they should rub sandpaper! She wanted photos and videos of them doing this. Also, just to inform you that this practice is horribly wrong and could cause terrible pain, progression of illness and even worse, infections. She told a person to “pull on their RSD/CRPS riddled fingers until the pain was excruciating” and told them that this would “help them cure their RSD/CRPS”.

This “fake” was a well known figure in the RSD/CRPS community for these past few years. She had some telltale signs that I notice right away and thus the reason I vet my support groups very carefully. She had no real photos on her Facebook page and no family pictures or friends. Nothing “personal” stood out, from what I hear, on her page. She never showed herself in a video or a Facebook chat or video either. If anyone has ever watched the Television show called “Catfish”, that is one of the biggest clues to being a “fake” or a “Catfish” account. When you befriend someone on Facebook please be sure to check out their profile. Also, it doesn’t matter if they are friends with some of your friends, it can still be fake. Look for the signs of “realness” and of being a true person online. Look for achievements, and milestones, family and other photos (as I stated above) and don’t befriend anyone that you don’t feel comfortable with.

Please understand that most of the support groups are wonderful on Facebook. They are run by loving and caring patients living in pain also. Feel free to check out the group admins. pages also. Look them up and see who they are and if they are shown as having a true Facebook account as well. Feel free to ask questions before you join a group, to see what the person believes about your illness(es). Check to see if you believe in the same ideas, or not? The people living in the pain community have seemed to me to be so caring and always wanting to help a fellow sufferer. I think this is where the story gets so dark, because this “fake” person tried to gain the trust of people who are kind and caring and suffering. We are all trying to make sense of these illnesses and the pain that they bring, how could anyone “pretend” to have something and then hurt people who’s trust they’d been given freely?

These are questions that I cannot answer nor fathom. This “fake” person was finally exposed and the authorities were called. There’s not much else anyone can do because she/he or they, closed down their Facebook account, their support group and took all of the photos and videos with them. Wherever they’ve run off too, we will never know. We don’t know if that person will show up again and now people will be afraid and looking around every corner for someone like this; wondering who to trust now? But if you are requested to do anything that you don’t feel comfortable doing, don’t do it. Unless you know someone online and have done a face chat video with them, or met them “in person”; don’t give away anything personal in the form of information, videos or photos. But please don’t give up on the support groups because there are many that are loving, kind and very helpful. I am so thankful that this person did not make it into my support groups. I remember the name and remember “her” asking to be in my groups and I felt hat something wasn’t quite right. I declined her entry into my groups. I declined her friend request. I am just lucky in that respect, because many of my dear friends who are very careful; were still affected by this imposter into our RSD/CRPS community.

I’m concerned for the people who were hurt in my communities. This person was relentless in her “pushing” people to do things that were painful in order to give them false hope of a “cure”. She said that she herself had been cured and that all of the things she told them to do, she had done and this is how she got well. We all want hope and so these people were desperate for some kind of relief. With our pain medications being taken away weekly and more people being denied appropriate pain relief; I can see how this can happen. But just be very careful and don’t give up on the support groups but be selective in your choices.

The CRPS communities are left now with a bigger wound to heal. They feel vulnerable and duped. People are trying to wrap their heads around the idea that their photos and videos are out there somewhere and they don’t know where? Please know that if you were a part of this scam, it is not your fault. The imposter was very “good” at what she was trying to achieve. She was sly and deceitful in her endeavors to trick a community of pain sufferers. Please be assured that the Police have been alerted and Facebook security also has been told about this. There is not a lot that they can do except to try and make sure this doesn’t happen again. We all have to be a part of that! We all have to keep our eyes and ears open without getting too paranoid or hurting more people in the process. Don’t accuse anyone if you are not sure, because that’s happened to some RSD/CRPS patients as well. That has got to be a horrible feeling and it appeared that the people who were wrongly accused have regressed and so we have to be so careful not to be one way or another. Just be on your guard but not overly suspicious of everyone due to this situation.

Here is a link to another article written by someone else regarding this subject: http://www.blbchronicpain.co.uk/news/facebook-crps-faker-pretend/

Beds were brought in for people who needed to lay down awhile. That’s me with the blue blanket on the bed!! Isn’t that so thoughtful, accommodating and awesome? The US Pain Foundation did this for us!
Hello Luvs,

I wanted to write something about my experiences this past weekend when my husband and I went to Connecticut. I was invited to go to a weekend seminar to learn how to be a “support group leader” and how to host an “in-person” support group for people living with chronic pain . I was a bit nervous at first because going on even a short trip is difficult for those of us who live with debilitating chronic pain on a daily basis. We worry about being in pain far from the comfort of our recliner, bed or even our own home. There are worries about taking medications or durable medical equipment on a trip or to a hotel. Then we worry about the airplane ride or the long car trip and the ensuing pain it will inevitably bring. But guess what? It is always worth the extra effort because our home, bed and recliner will be there when we return.

The U.S. Pain Foundation and their program called “Pain Connection”, hosted this two day workshop in Connecticut, not far from the U.S. Pain Foundation home office. As with everything else that I’ve ever done with or for them, I was never alone. They walked with me through each and every step of the trip and the workshop. The main thing about any trip is the pre-planning. It makes everything easier if you can call the airlines and arrange for a seat placement that gives you the most amount of comfort. You can do everything from your bed/recliner and home. All you need is your computer or a telephone. I got an employee of the airport to assist us to the gate, get me and my wheelchair onto the plane ahead of everyone else and all it took was a phone call. They needed the height and weight of my wheelchair and that was all. Everyone was very kind and cooperative. They let me take my wheelchair all the way to the door of the airplane, they took my chair and then assisted me to my seat. It was much easier to take only “carry on” luggage. This way we had nothing to “check in”. I brought my gum, headphones, music and smartphone. Everything went smoothly and all of the persons involved were accommodating. I even spoke to the staff where I had to be “patted down” because of my pacemaker. I’m not able to go through the scanner or have the wand put around my body because of my implanted medical devices. I told the staff member that I have a nerve disease and she was very cooperative and kind. She very gingerly patted me down and I was not in any discomfort. You just have to be prepared, verbal and have a kind attitude yourself.

We arrived at our hotel which was a wonderful accommodation and again everything was great! They even had a coffee machine in the lobby with my favorite and special kinds of coffee. We arrived on Friday evening and my husband went to the pool, while I sat at the pool area and rested from the day’s journey. We had a more comfortable bed than mine at home! I slept a whopping 6 hours and the most I ever get is 3 to 4 hours of sleep at home! I’m not sure if it was actually the nice bed or the fact that I was exhausted? Either way I was rested and ready for the day ahead. On Saturday we went down to a conference room and to my elation, there were several beds ready for takers; along with nice and comfortable tables and chairs. I had my wheelchair with me, but I quickly snatched up one of the beds and would have gladly shared if anyone had needed it or asked. We had introductions and proceeded to be trained to work with people who live with chronic pain and their families in a group setting.

Some of the tools that were taught included: relaxation, the “treatment tree” plan, self-compassion, meditation, self-massage and more. We learned the Psychosocial stages of chronic pain, the grief process and we had a question and answer period with discussions. We watched a couple of videos and did role playing on Sunday. We laughed and cried with each other and truly got to know our peers. I formed many new friendships during those two days. These are persons who literally live what my husband/caregiver and I both go through on a daily basis. The leaders were so wonderful and they too, laughed and cried along with us. We learned some techniques of Acupuncture and Acupressure and how to lead successful groups. One part of the weekend that especially touched my heart was when the caregivers did their presentations. These were the caregivers to the leaders of this training program. They spoke about how families are affected by chronic pain. Then we had a group discussion. Again on Sunday we learned even more about things such as: guided imagery, breathing techniques, pacing & respecting limits, how to maximize group member engagement and then we learned about flare-up relapse prevention.

At the end of the two days full of enrichment, learning and building friendships; we all received our certification for “group leader training”. We were called up individually and sat on a chair in the middle of the room. It wasn’t intimidating in the least! It was exhilarating to hear the kind words that were said about each person. They went around the room and everyone said something kind and wonderful to the person sitting in the chair. Maybe it was something they learned from them during the weekend, or it may have been something about their personality that was especially positive? Either way we laughed and cried again, together as a group and individually, personally. There were polished stones laid out on a table. Each stone had a word carved or painted on it. Some of the various words were: Courage, Hope, Love, Kindness, Healing, patience and so on. Everyone chose a stone that had a special meaning to them and that is when we sat in the “hot seat” and we were given positive feedback from the weekend.

I always felt comfortable to eat, drink or get up and move. I even wasn’t embarrassed when I fell asleep for a few moments during the comforting music and guided imagery session. When does a pain patient get to feel so relaxed and comfortable? It is when we are together with others like ourselves and feel comfortable enough to share, laugh and cry together. I know that many of us were so happy and felt very accommodated and comfortable during this workshop weekend. Even though I was “wiped out” from the day on Saturday, my husband and I did something that we had never done before! I called an “Uber” to take us out to dinner with some of the staff and other friends who were there. We had a fun time of chatter and more laughing and much sharing. We went back to the hotel and crashed after that, but it was worth it.

We arrived home but returned with many tools, more knowledge and several new friends. I now feel that I have the tools and am more confident to start and run a support group near my home in Michigan. I want to give special gratitude to the U.S. Pain foundation and their program called “Pain Connection”. I also wish to personally say “thank you” to Paul Gileno, Lori Monarca, Gwenn and Malcolm Herman and Cindy and Marty Steinberg. I encourage anyone to be more empowered and try to do things that you think you cannot do. Lastly, I would like to say that whomever wants to know what the U.S. Pain Foundation is all about, read this article again. You can visit their website and become and Ambassador and have a more fulfilling life. There is so much that you can do right from your own home. You can even use tools such as Skype and “Google hangouts” to connect with more people. I encourage you to look for a support group near your home and if there is not one available, think about trying to start one yourself. Helping just one person, reaching one person’s heart is worth its weight in gold.

Having Chronic Pain is unlike the pain following a surgery or even the pain after an injury. Many things about Chronic pain are not seen with our eyes. There are so many “invisible diseases” that involve living with exhaustion, illness and pain. Many people think they know about these issues. If they’ve not witnessed life with a chronic pain patient, then they truly cannot understand or know what we live with on a daily basis. People are misinformed and sometimes quick to judge persons living with pain day after day. Some think we are lazy, anti-social or just rude. We cancel appointments, shopping trips and dinner dates with our friends and family. But we are not any of the above. We are people who have hopes, dreams and inspirations; just as anyone else. The issue is that our futures don’t include many of those same things after we become chronic pain patients. We must grieve our losses and find new hopes and dreams. This is the price that we pay for living with chronic pain 24/7/365.

I am still “me” underneath the chronic fatigue and pain. I still want to talk with you and hear about your day, family and dreams. In between the days of staying in my PJ’s and lying in my bed or on the sofa, I try hard to be a part of your “normal” world. Some days I may even look “normal” to you. In fact, most of the time, I probably appear to be “just like everybody else. I try to wear nice pants, cute dresses and sometimes I put on make up, just like you do! If you visit my Social Media photo feeds, you’ll see someone who “looks normal”, holding onto her grandchildren’s hands, smiling and actually joyful underneath the pain somewhere. Sometimes even sitting on the floor with them. You may read about me “babysitting” for our grandchildren; or going out to dinner with our friends. You may even want to “judge” me by saying to yourself “How can she be that sick or in that much pain, if she’s doing all of these things?” If you think like that, I can’t blame you because I once thought those same misinformed thoughts. What you don’t see, is how I get to the floor or how long I am actually down there. You don’t see my husband helping me (and doing most of the work) to get me up and off of the floor. You don’t actually know how long I am down there or how many pillows may be behind my back. You also don’t know that I most likely stayed home in my pajama’s all day until 4:00 pm when we had dinner plans at 5:15 pm. You also aren’t privy to the information of how long I might’ve stayed at dinner and “if” I was able to even eat anything that night. Not only do I have several chronic pain illnesses, but many of them are invisible to you. They are very much visible to me. I can “see” them with each new line on my face and each new grey hair that gets covered up each month. I can’t only “see” the pain, but I feel it with every part of my being. It doesn’t go away, not ever. Though some days are better or worse than others; the chronic pain of “Invisible Disabilities” and “Invisible Illness” is apparent to me every minute of every day. Often I fight with myself about going to sleep at night. Do I try to go to bed at a more normal time and maybe get 4 -5 hours rest? Or do I stay up until I drop; then fall asleep quickly and wake up in just 2 or 3 hours? If I sleep more than 2 or 3 hours, I will awaken and cry. Whether it be inner tears or outward ones, I will cry from feeling as though someone set my body on fire due to the CRPS. I will have tears from feeling like my neck and back are broken from the Degenerative Disc disease, Spondylosis, Scoliosis and/or multiple herniated/bulging discs in both my cervical and lumbar spine; not to mention the Chiari malformation I in my neck. Yes, if I move or get up before I’m ready, I definitely will cry. It’ a routine that we have, you know? My husband gets up at 6:00 am every day to give me my medicine; just so that I will be able to get up with him a couple of hours after that. He is my hero.

You cannot feel Gastroparesis, but if I eat one wrong food at dinner time; I will be up all night and very sick. My husband, who is also my soul-mate and my caregiver; knows all too well about these long nights. I have worries, though he continues to tell me that they are unfounded; that he will get tired of all of this one day. It’s not much fun to be with someone who is constantly complaining about pain, so I try to keep it to a minimum. But even to him, my pain is not invisible. He knows the grimace of CRPS and the fidgeting of the intensifying pain on an outing. He knows that when I start rocking back and forth, it’s his cue to step in and say “time to go home”. I know that my own family gets frustrated with me because I’m not able to babysit “alone” or have kids dropped off on the spur of the moment. I cannot commit to babysitting for the little ones under school age for a week. I’m not able to help take the load off of my children and their spouses, so that they can go on a trip. There are many things that I cannot do but there’s so much that I still have to give.

Please don’t judge what you do not understand. If you think you know, then go and read some more about chronic illnesses and pain. Spend time with someone like me and see how impaired the activities of daily living have become. I’m probably not always much fun to hang out with, but I’m still “me” inside. Digging through the pain and exhaustion, there’s a real person inside, who still has a heart and feelings that can be hurt. Feelings that are probably more fragile than most because of the judgements, stares and hurtful words that come from some people who are misjudging and misinformed. I’ve had nasty notes put on my windshield, that would make anyone cry. One note said this “How dare you take this HC parking space! It must be a “mental thing”! I hope you become handicapped for the rest of your life, so you know how it feels to have someone take your parking spot”! Yes, indeed; that was the note left on my car at a little market right across the street from my house. I had my cane in the grocery cart and the little blue HC parking permit on my rear view mirror. But I was still judged and torn to shreds because of the way I look.

Please know the difference between being able to stand for 20 minutes and being able to stand all day. The difference between having the flu and feeling that same way for many many years! Try and understand that what I might be able to do today, I probably won’t be able to do tomorrow. Don’t say “Oh you look happy and healthy” or tell me that I’m looking or sounding “better”. I’m just trying to cope with the life that I have been dealt. Please don’t judge me if I try to do awareness events or fundraisers for the causes of my illnesses and those of my friends. Though I may “do” these things; I definitely know that I will “pay” for it later. I will rest for days in between and sometimes weeks. But I deserve to do things and to try and be happy; even if it is in between the pain at its worst and best. Please know that getting out and doing things doesn’t make me feel better, it actually makes me feel worse for days at a time.

Chronic pain is hard for you to understand. It wreaks havoc on the body and the mind.
It is exhausting and exasperating. I’m doing my best to cope and live my life to the best of my ability. I ask you to bear with me, and accept me as I am.

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You will find more "about me" here: About.me/Suzydukettes. I am a survivor first! I am a Chronic Pain Patient who lives with Severe Systemic-Full Body RSD/CRPS, the highest form of chronic pain known; at #43 on McGill Pain Scale. I live with RSD/CRPS and several other high pain illnesses. I continue to be a mentor for newly DX RSD/CRPS patients. I'm a blogger and Author/regular columnist for "National Pain Report". I'm a Patient Leader for WEGO Health as well as being a freelance writer for several different venues. I've done feature commercials for IDA.
I not only blog for my own therapy of sorts, but in the hope of helping others. I blog sometimes for RSDSA, RSDHOPE and others. I'm founder of R.A.S.E.for CRPS (@RASEforCRPS on Twitter, RASEforCRPS on Instagram and RASEforCRPS.tumblr.com). Also I founded "People In Pain Unite" on Facebook/Twitter-(@ppl-InPainUnite)/Instagram. On Instagram, I also have a page named: "InvisibleDiseases".
I've been a Patient Health advocate/activist since 2007. I have an Advocacy page at: www.youtube.com/Suzydukettes . I also have a sign Language Youtube page where I post ASL Covers of Many different kinds of songs. The ASL Youtube page is found if you Google "ASLSUZYQ". Along with doing these things; I enjoy being an Ambassador for the U.S. Pain Foundation. I do awareness events and fundraisers for them. I always say that "HOPE is a verb, and in order to have it, you must do something". To keep it, you have to keep doing, trying & not giving up. Most everything you need to know about me, or to find me on Social Media, you can find at: about.me/suzydukettes ...OR suzydukettes.wordpress.com
**I am not a Medical Dr nor do I claim to be an expert regarding any of the subjects I may write about. I write from my own experiences. Also, Please don't copy or reproduce any part of this blog without my permission. Thank you!